Marte has four plus tools and an average one, but he lacks the discipline in the box to be ranked as high as other elite hitters with similar skill sets. We at The Sombrero treat strike-zone judgment about as seriously as we treat the hit tool itself, and Marte appears to have very little of it. That said, he posted a tremendously impressive .332/.370/.500 slash line with 24 stolen bases and nearly 60 hits for extra bases in the Eastern League. He only worked 22 walks in over 560 plate appearances, and, while his ability to lay off secondary stuff improved as the year progressed, he still has a long way to go before he is able to differentiate balls and strikes or square strikes up with secondary offerings.

He is a terrific runner who will eventually move Andrew McCutchen to a corner spot. His arm will be plus in center and is quite accurate with good carry. He squares fastballs up as well as anyone in the Minors today and has the legs to beat out several grounders per year. His power is behind his other tools, but it is at least in the “gap” category now with likely more to come as he matures.

Considering that Marte had a terrific season in Double-A as a 22-year-old, the future is looking very bright in the Pirate outfield. Marte plays the game very hard and gets great marks for his makeup too. We expect to see Marte at PNC in 2012, but it hopefully comes after several hundred at-bats in Triple-A first.